Shane's pov

Marlena called 911 wanting to be safe rather than sorry, although she told me not to worry as she was almost positive Julie passed out due to a severe panic attack. She just wanted the hospital to run some tests to rule out any other possibilities. The paramedics started IV fluids and Julie regained consciousness before we even completed the ten minute ride to the hospital.

They released Julie after a few hours when the tests they ran didn't show any abnormalities. Mike met us at the hospital shortly after we arrived and he and Marlena quickly joined their colleagues to confer on Julie's diagnoses and treatment, which I'm sure sped up the process of her release.

Julie remembered going to the park but couldn't recall anything that happened after walking into the dugout. We let her rest the remainder of the day. The two doctors deliberated on the best clinical course of action for our second oldest daughter while I spent the evening feeling not only extremely useless but guilt ridden as well. Seeing Julie lying in that hospital bed due to my youthful transgressions broke my heart. I didn't deserve the privilege of playing an influential role in raising any of our four amazing, beautiful girls. Someday I'll have to ask God to explain why he ever granted me this luxury.

The next morning, Mike, Marlena, and I sat down with Julie and discussed the next steps in her treatment plan. Marlena prescribed a couple of medications to help treat Julie's anxiety. One she would take daily, reaching an effective therapeutic level after a few weeks and the other would work much more quickly but she would only take it when experiencing a severe panic episode. Marlena made sure Julie understood that finding the right medications in the proper dosages involved quite a bit of trial and error so she shouldn't be surprised or disappointed if her drug regimen changed frequently.

Three weeks later

Mike's pov

"Mike, can you pick up a refill of my medication at the pharmacy today? I left the bottle on my dresser. Thank you," Julie called out to me, as she and the girls were rushing out the door to get to school on time.

"Alright, I'll stop there on my way home from work." I apparently was talking to myself as the girls had already left the building.

Approximately eight hours later

Mike's pov

Checking my phone before leaving the Foundation, I see a text from Julie:

don't forget my refill

Shit! I forgot to grab her bottle on my way out the door since Shane and I were running late and Neil was already on the warpath. Hopefully I can just have them look it up at the pharmacy since it would take me almost an hour in traffic to stop at the NJC first and then backtrack to the pharmacy before returning home.

Once I get to the pharmacy, the tech asks me which medication Julie needs filled. Crap, I don't know which meds Marlena has her on now. I really should be more on top of these things, instead of taking a backseat as Shane handles the bulk of the responsibility managing Julie's treatment with Dr. Evans. Knowing the Admiral should be home by now, I call him and ask him to go in the girls' room and read me the info off Julie's rx bottle since I can't get in touch with Julie because she's at basketball practice.

When I relay the info Shane gives me to the tech, she types it into the computer and informs me it's too soon to refill Julie's medication. I ask Shane to double check he's got the right bottle and he says, "Yes, it's the only bottle on her dresser and she has just one tablet left."

The pharmacist comes over and confirms Julie should still have twelve days of medication left based on the days supply and the last pick-up date if she's taking the medication as prescribed. I ask Shane if Marlena could have upped her dose but he insists she would have informed him if she made any changes. I thank the staff for their time and head out.

Fuck! Now we have a big problem. Knowing Julie's med is a controlled substance, it's highly unlikely the pharmacy gave her the wrong quantity since those meds are always double counted. Unfortunately, the more likely explanation is Julie's been abusing her medication by taking pills more frequently than Marlena prescribed. I know this medication's addiction potential and I certainly don't want Julie to go down that road. As a surgeon, I've seen the devastation drug dependency can cause and I'll be damned if I'm going to idly stand by and allow a child of mine to be caught up in it.

Before Shane and I confront Julie, I want to call Marlena and confirm she didn't change her dose but Shane apparently already beat me to it. Since Dr. Evans verified she hasn't made any recent changes in Julie's medications, all that's left now is to get some answers from our teenage daughter. I'm becoming more and more upset over Julie's irresponsible behavior as I fight traffic on the drive home.

When I arrived at the NJC, Shane and I sent Lisa and Carrie to watch tv in one of the common rooms while we waited for Julie to get home from basketball practice. Julie walked in first with Stacey close behind.

"Oh hey." Julie was only slightly startled to see us waiting in her room. "Did you remember to pickup my prescription, Mike?" she asked, as she and Stacey tossed their backpacks and gym bags on the floor.

"Stacey, go join Lisa and Carrie in the common room. Shane and I need to speak with your cousin alone," I said sternly, as I felt my temper rising seeing how nonchalant Julie was when referring to her medication refill.

"Why? I wanted to take a shower, I'm all sweaty," Stacey whined.

"Stacey Marie, if you're not out that door in the next ten seconds, you'll be sleeping on your stomach tonight." I crossed my arms over my chest, slowly drumming the fingers of my left hand on my right bicep as I stared down my oldest daughter. "Now do as you're told and go." I pointed to the door and Stacey quickly left, recognizing that testing me would be an extremely unwise choice.

I saw the look of panic on Julie's face.

"Did I do something wrong?" she asked, as she started taking quick shallow breaths.

"Take a seat and calm down, Julie." Shane shot me a warning glance, letting me know that I should back off. "We just want to talk to you about your medication," he stated calmly, as I continued to silently seethe across the room.

When Julie sat down on her bed, Shane held the prescription bottle in front of her face.

"Have you been taking more of these pills than Dr. Evans told you to?"

"No, I only take a half when I really need it and if I still feel anxious after thirty minutes I take the other half just like she said. If that doesn't work then I have to call her and I've only had to do that once." Julie was clearly defensive.

"Sweetheart, when Mike went to the pharmacy to get your refill, they said it was too soon to fill because you should still have twelve days of medicine left. So sometimes you must forget and take more pills than you're supposed to. Am I right?" Shane spoke to Julie as if she was a three-year old and judging by her response, she most definitely did not like being patronized.

"NO! I'M NOT SOME FUCKING BASKET CASE WHO'S TOO PATHETIC TO REALIZE HOW MANY PILLS SHE'S TAKING!" Julie stood as she shouted, her fists tightly balled at her sides and her face flushing bright red.

"You watch your tone, young lady," I warned. "That kind of language is unacceptable." I stood up, no longer leaning on her desk and quickly closed the gap between us until Shane stopped me, holding me back with his arm.

"Let's everyone just calm down." Shane looked back and forth between Julie and I while continuing to restrain me.

"NO! YOU'RE ACCUSING ME OF BEING SOME KIND OF FUCKING DRUG ADDICT. I WON'T CALM DOWN!" Julie shouted as she glared at me.

"Julie, that is enough of the foul language, I will not warn you again." Shane was firm but remained calm, trying to make good on his promise to listen first before reacting.

I, on the other hand, already had my belt folded over and was ready to put my mouthy daughter in her place.

"THEN WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL YOUR PILLS, JULIE?" IF YOU'RE NOT TAKING MORE THAN YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE, WHERE ARE THEY?" I'm done pussyfooting around the real problem here.

"I DON'T KNOW BUT I DIDN'T TAKE THEM!" Julie started to hyperventilate.

"Mike, please." Shane looked me in the eyes as he continued to hold me back, pleading for me to stop escalating the volatility of the situation. Turning his attention back to Julie, he asked, "You know Dr. Evans only wants you to take that medication sparingly. Right? You're not supposed to take it everyday."

"Yes, I know that and I told you I haven't been taking them everyday. I've only taken them a couple of times." Julie was insistent.

"Then you should have even more pills left than twelve days worth Julie. How come you only have one tablet left in your bottle?" Shane continued to calmly look for a rational explanation but I was way too far past my patience level to demonstrate restraint and my temper was flaring red-hot.

"WE KNOW YOU TOOK THEM, JULIE. JUST ADMIT IT ALREADY, FOR CHRISSAKE!"

Julie was crying now as she struggled to breathe but still somehow managed to raise her voice, "FOR THE LAST TIME, I DIDN'T TAKE THEM!"

"I did." The three of us snapped our heads in unison to see who was standing in the doorway.